In Grim Irony, the Washington Post Company Diversifies Into Hospice Care

It's no secret that the Washington Post Company, home to one of America's most important and revered newspapers, is floundering. The company's once booming education business, Kaplan, has cooled significantly in recent quarters, and ad revenues in both print and online are also down. Fighting to keep its head above water, the Post Co. has now done what many dying people do: turned to hospice care.

The Washington Post Co. said Monday that it has agreed to acquire a majority stake in Celtic Healthcare, a provider of skilled home health-care and hospice services in the northeastern and mid-Atlantic regions.

The purchase price was not disclosed, but Donald E. Graham, chief executive of The Washington Post Co., said in a statement that the acquisition is "part of the Post Co.'s ongoing strategy of investing in companies with demonstrated earnings potential and strong management teams attracted to our long-term investment horizon."

In all honesty, good luck to the Washington Post Company, which has put out a lot of good work over the years. Frankly, this is probably a wise business decision for the brand: Even if everyone in the whole world stopped reading newspapers tomorrow, they've all got to die eventually.